from Switzerland to Milan to Paris!

(Champs Elysees)

I have not written in so long I've been travelling all over! I feel weird blogging... Like I think I'm really cool that I need to tell everyone about my life. Oh wait a minute, I am really cool because I live in Paris! WHAAAT. (kidding). So getting to Paris was a little bit of a disaster... The ticket office for the train was closed so I couldn't pick up my ticket when I was in Milan so me and my friend Meredith who was also going to Paris had to print out our emails saying we've paid and beg them to let us on the train. After asking many different people they thankfully agreed and we got on. Once on the train we were cracking up at how tiny and close everything was. It was my first time on a train like this before, small rooms with 6 beds, 3 layered on top of one another (I was on the very top) and barely any room to move. With the occassional perks of being a 20 year old girl, Meredith and I got called back into 1st class by two guys who worked on the train and had some drinks, that was fun. After some time we went to sleep back in our cabins and when we awoke we were in the beautiful Paris! Last night Meredith and I checked out the Champs Elysees and the Eiffel Tower. Purchased some sandwiches and champagne and made ourselves a nice picnic right in front of the gorgeous building. My favorite part about the Eiffel Tower was how it changes and looks different as the sun goes down. Once it is completely dark it sparkles and is a jaw-dropping sight. I could sit on the grass and stare at it for hours, unfortunately we got in trouble by the po-po for drinking alcohol (didn't know it was illegal there since everyyyyone was doing it) and we had to move to a different spot. Today I made my first purchase! A new pair of tan Parisan sandals, perfect considering my blog name :] Also I got a pedicure and sipped some Earl Grey at a cafe! I'm so local now it's ridiculous...I really hope everyone who reads this knows me and my sense of humor by now. Anyways, I check in to my school on Monday, looking forward to it, this vagabond lifestyle is moving way too quickly for me. Haven't stayed in the same spot since I got here! (Definitely not complaining though) I can truly say I have never been happier.
Au Revoir homies!

Locarno Film Festival

(Mike Medavoy and his son-plus Mer, Mon and Me :] )

So far the Film Festival has been awesome here. I've gratefully gotten the chance to see many wonderful films such as Another Earth-A film with a concept I particularly was quite drawn to, it involved the idea of what you would think if you met yourself. In other words seeing yourself as someone outside yourself. Saw Olivia Wilde, Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig at the Cowboys and Aliens screening (a film I didn't quite particularly like). Today I got the honor to meet one of the greatest producers of all time, Mike Medavoy. He's produced 315 films including Black Swan, Shutter Island, Rocky, Apocalypse Now, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, etc. etc. I personally thought he seemed quite modest considering all his success, however others in our group got the opposite impression. On a tangent, a couple of nights ago we met some hippie's (I felt back at home Santa Cruz!) haha and jammed out together on some drums, guitar and flute. It was quite the.. experience? Anywho, only 5 more days left of this Summer Abroad program and then I'm onto a train to Paris for a whole 'nother experience!

Made it to Switzerland!

Where do I begin... Well first off Switzerland is gorgeous! The best day I've had on this trip would have to be yesterday. A bunch of us went to the lake and swam and had grape throwing competitions and found a LEECH! We named it Carmen Eleechra. Last night saw the first film of the film festival: Fellini's Amarcord. It was in Italian but had French subtitles that I could mostly follow. The actress from that film, Magali Noel was there presenting the film, she's still as much as a fox as she was then! After the film ended Meredith and I went to the Retunda-spelling?, a huge tent filled with food, drinks, dancing, etc. We danced on stage by ourselves to Usher, Pussycat Dolls, etc. clearly being Americans... Today went and saw an Indian film called Neecha Nagar, I liked it because the music was all done by Ravi Shankar who I adore because he taught my boyfriend George Harrison from The Beatles how to play the Sitar. :] haha. I'm obsessed.. Anywho, later tonight is the showing of Super8 that I'm looking forward to. I can't decide if I enjoy Berlin or Switzerland more. They each have such a different vibe. Berlin more fast-paced, Locarno more relaxed. I do miss the cheapness of food and such in Berlin though that is for sure. A little FF(fun fact) before I leave you guys..the beer here costs less than a bottle of water!!
Ciao!
-Brittany C.

(Magali Noel)

Open Air Cinema & Salvador Dali

Hello there!
Time here has been flying by. It has been so hard to do everything I'd like to in just two weeks! Plus I go to school from 2pm-6pm everyday.. Went to the Open Air Cinema with two friends last night. We got very lost and took some turns down some etchy sketchy dark streets, but in the end we followed the loud noise and found our way! I have to say it was very much worth all the wrong turns in the end because we made it and it was such a cool experience! The weather was lovely, we cracked open a couple bottles of vino and ate jellybeans. It was definitely one of those self aware moments where I gazed away from the screen, looked at my surroundings and thought, "wow, I am very, very grateful to be where I am right now, with these wonderful people". Going off on a tangent.. I forgot to mention earlier that when I arrived here in Germany they told me I wasn't in the group! Apparently I accidently got deleted from the database-not my fault at all. So now they are working out all the gliches because they only have 29 plane tickets to Milan on Monday yet there are 30 of us! (Me being the child left behind #30) tear... haha. How bad would that have been if they had no record of me being apart of this group? I was like uhm I paid and went to orientation and I'M HEREEE!? (laughs) but it's all working out, they're able to pull some strings and undo the mistake. This morning before class a bunch of us went to the Salvador Dali Museum. I hadn't known who he was until today and now I am obsessed! Not only do I have a fascination with moustaches, but also his talent is remarkable. He was an artist in so many ways-painter, writer, filmmaker, cartoonist, sculptor, etc. etc. the list goes on. I was very much inspired however, I'm sadly not very artistic myself. I have an essay on a scene from a film due Friday I better get off to working on. PS if anyone noticed how I said "the weather is lovely", that is because I was in an organic store yesterday buying a snack inbetween classes and asked the woman working if these vegetable chips were good and she replied with, "Personally, I think they're quite lovely". She said it in such a dream-like voice it sounded so adorable that I've decided to begin using that phrase more often. Haha, laugh at me all you want but it isn't something I've heard often from my own generation and I like it!
Ciao!
-Brittany C.
P.S.S. Eleven pounds of Nutella, baby.

"indie"?

Hallo!
What a weekend we've all had here...
Went to a bar Friday night where I met a fun group of german hipsters and had a great conversation about the differences between America and Germany. The main consensus has been that Europeans see Americans as of course fat, religious, racially biased, stuck up and sloppy! Yahoo... : / Met a British/German guy named Steven who was fun to talk to. We had a hilarious conversation about what being indie means here and it seems to be the same. As he put it.. It is a compliment and an insult at the same time to be called indie (similar to the US I'd say), because it is saying you're cool but at the same time are trying too hard to be cool and unique therefore you inevitably are not unique anymore. He also told me German indies wear colored jeans and tight shirts that have English words on them. Apparently English is "cool" and when you compliment a European on their English they are very happy! I've met many Swedish people here and have noticed they have perfect English. I discovered the reason that is is because they don't dub movies in Sweden so they are in English with Swedish subtitles. So, from hearing English spoken so often through American movies they have developed very good English! Interesting huh? Everyone here watches Friends and How I Met Your Mother! Haha, bring it up and they will go a-wol. Germany is so much more environmentally friendly than the U.S. They don't bag your groceries at the store, you must buy each bag. Also, you must pay a euro for a cart and then you get it back once you're done so that they aren't stolen (laughs). Went to a gay club last night! Had way too much fun. It is refreshing to be able to dance at a club and not have men hitting on you every second. They payed American music the entire time. I often hate on Lady GaGa but I must admit that I see what she has done for the gay community now. Seeing them all singing "I Was Born This Way" and having fun, not having to worry about what society is saying about them was inspiring. I was quite impressed with how all the Europeans in the club new all the lyrics to our music! Saturday we went to an Egyptian museum, it had an eerie vibe to it, lots of coffins! Check the pic. Time to go read more, will upload lots of pictures from the past week onto facebook later tonight.

Rainy Day!

It is pouring rain here! And very windy, but that isn't stopping us from going out and experiencing the city life. Went on a tour of Berlin yesterday, saw so many gorgeous buildings and people. Did I mention how everyone is attractive? Haha! No wonder so many models are foreign... I'm meeting so many people here, and not just people from Berlin, but people who live all over the world from Spain to France to China, etc. One thing I have been noticing the more I meet other people is how we communicate as humans with other people who do not speak our same language! It is amazing how two people speaking two completely different languages can actually understand one another through hand motions, facial expressions, symbols, writing, etc! Thumbs up seems to be a hand motion understandable in most cultures, however a friend told me in some countries it is like their version of the middle finger! Whoops, gotta be careful. I met a couple french boys who said I wrote "like a computer", by this meaning not in cursive. They were cracking up at my handwriting and were so surprised not all Americans write in cursive. Anyways, I keep forgetting I'm here for school and am getting behind on my reading so I better go catch up.  PS TOMS shoes in the rain is a no-go! Felt like I was sloshing around in wet socks all day. haha.

First night in Europe!

Here it is! For all you people who when I mentioned was going to be living in Europe for 5 months said, "ooo make a blog!" This is my first post that I am posting from Berlin, Germany from my lovely hostel. Just got back from a night of exploring the city and am already seeing the differences between here and California. The most noteworthy and obviously important difference, is the shoes people wear! Hence the title "From Santa Cruz to Fancy Shoes". No matter where you look, what the age of the person is, or what you are doing everybody has the greatest shoes! Ha! I mean I was warned that in Europe people look at your shoes before they look at your face, but never have I fully understood that quote until experiencing the taste and class that Europeans present themselves with on every street. Speaking of streets... A prostitute pulled my friends pony tail on the side walk! It's a long story and I am much to tired from the 15 hour plane flight to delve into it right now, but I will try my best to keep this updated and semi-interesting for all my friends and fam. PS a group of new friends and I went out to dinner tonight and they laughed at me for using a straw with my giant 1/2 liter beer! The waiter laughed at me when I asked, only to return minutes later with a purple straw, hence, the picture. Anyway, stay tuned for pictures of the beautiful city and many stories to come.

Guten Tag!
Brittany C.